• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2022

Background: Maternal Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection during pregnancy has been associated with various mental illnesses in the offspring. Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is a major bioactive compound obtained from ginseng that has an anti-T. gondii effect and attenuates microglial activation through toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. GRh2 also alleviated tumor-associated or lipopolysaccharide-induced depression. However, the effects and potential mechanisms of GRh2 on depression-like behavior in mouse offspring caused by maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy have not been investigated. Methods: We examined GRh2 effects on the depression-like behavior in mouse offspring, caused by maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy, by measuring depression-like behaviors and assaying parameters at the neuronal and molecular level. Results: We showed that GRh2 significantly improved behavioral measures: sucrose consumption, forced swim time and tail suspended immobility time of their offspring. These corresponded with increased tissue concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine, and attenuated indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase or enhanced tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the prefrontal cortex. GRh2 ameliorated neuronal damage in the prefrontal cortex. Molecular docking results revealed that GRh2 binds strongly to both TLR4 and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that GRh2 ameliorated the depression-like behavior in mouse offspring of maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy by attenuating the excessive activation of microglia and neuroinflammation through the HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. It suggests that GRh2 could be considered a potential therapy in preventing and treating psychiatric disorders in the offspring mice of mothers with prenatal exposure to T. gondii infection.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.777-783
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• 2015

The nitric oxide (NO) formation and intrinsic nitrosation may be involved in the possible mechanisms of liver fluke-associated carcinogenesis. We still do not know much about the responses of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) induced by Clonorchis sinensis infection. This study was conducted to explore the pathological lesions and iNOS expressions in the liver of mice with different infection intensity levels of C. sinensis. Extensive periductal inflammatory cell infiltration, bile duct hyperplasia, and fibrosis were commonly observed during the infection. The different pathological responses in liver tissues strongly correlated with the infection intensity of C. sinensis. Massive acute spotty necrosis occurred in the liver parenchyma after a severe infection. The iNOS activity in liver tissues increased, and iNOS-expressing cells with morphological differences were observed after a moderate or severe infection. The iNOS-expressing cells in liver tissues had multiple origins.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.267-273
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• 2013

Multiplex RT-PCR was used to detect respiratory viruses in 5,318 clinical samples referred to the laboratory of a tertiary teaching hospital from December 2006 to November 2010. The acquired data were analyzed with respect to types, ratio, and co-infection trends of infected respiratory viruses. Trends in respiratory viral infection according to sex, age, and period of infection were also analyzed. Of the 5,318 submitted clinical samples, 3,350 (63.0%) specimens were positive for at least one respiratory virus. The infection rates were 15.8% for human rhinovirus, 14.4% for human respiratory syncytial virus A, 9.7% for human respiratory syncytial virus B, 10.1% for human adenovirus, 5.4% for influenza A virus, 1.7% for influenza B virus, 4.7% for human metapneumovirus, 2.3% for human coronavirus OC43, 1.9% for human coronavirus 229E/NL63, 3.7% for human parainfluenza virus (HPIV)-1, 1.1% for HPIV-2, and 5.3% for HPIV-3. The co-infection analysis showed 17.1% of double infections, 1.8% of triple infections. The median age of virus-positive patients was 1.3 years old, and the 91.5% of virus-positive patients were under 10 years old. Human respiratory syncytial virus was the most common virus in children < 5 years of age and the influenza A virus was most prevalent virus in children over 5 years of age. These results help in elucidating the tendency of respiratory viral infections.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.85-91
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• 1987

For the development of the specific pathogen free (SPF) or germ free laboratory animals, a parasitological survey was carried out and numerous pinworms were collected from the large intestines and caeca of the host animal Mus musculus alba. The pinworms collected from the laboratory albino mice were identified as Aspiculuris tetraptera, Syphacia muris and S. obvelata and classified into the Family Oxyuridae, Superfamily Oxyuroidea, Order Ascaridida. The overall infection rate of the pinworms was revealed as high as 64.8%(A. tetraptera 31.0%; S. muris 32.4% and S. obvelata 22.5%) consisting of the single species infection 47.9%, the double species infection 12.7% and the triple species infection 4.2%.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.22-25
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• 2006

Ochrobactrum anthropi, previously known as Achromobacter species biotypes 1 and 2 (CDC groups Vd-1, Vd-2), belong to the groups of non-Enterobacteriaceae- nonfermentative Gram negative bacilli. Achromobacter is not presently a recognized genus. Achromobacter xylosoxidans has been transferred to genus Alcaligenes as A. xylosoxidans subsp. xylosoxidans, and "Achromobacter" sp. group Vd has been named Ochrobactrum anthropi. O. anthropi was isolated from a blood culture. Organisms were identified as O. anthropi by use of the biochemical test and the VITEK 2(bioMerieux, USA). The Organism was susceptible only to colistin, imipenem, meropenem, and tetracycline, but were resistant to amikacin, aztreonam, cefepime, ceftazidime, cefpirome, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, isepamcin, netilmicin, pefloxacin, piperacillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, ticarcillin, ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, tobramycin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. We report the clinical and microbiologic characteristics of O. anthropi infection in the patient. This is the first case of O. anthropi infection after using a plant as medicine at Chosun University Hospital.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.25.1-25.13
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• 2020

Acinetobacter baumannii is known for its multidrug antibiotic resistance. New approaches to treating drug-resistant bacterial infections are urgently required. Cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) is a murine antimicrobial peptide that exerts diverse immune functions, including both direct bacterial cell killing and immunomodulatory effects. In this study, we sought to identify the role of CRAMP in the host immune response to multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Wild-type (WT) and CRAMP knockout mice were infected intranasally with the bacteria. CRAMP^-/- mice exhibited increased bacterial colony-forming units (CFUs) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid after A. baumannii infection compared to WT mice. The loss of CRAMP expression resulted in a significant decrease in the recruitment of immune cells, primarily neutrophils. The levels of IL-6 and CXCL1 were lower, whereas the levels of IL-10 were significantly higher in the BAL fluid of CRAMP^-/- mice compared to WT mice 1 day after infection. In an in vitro assay using thioglycollate-induced peritoneal neutrophils, the ability of bacterial phagocytosis and killing was impaired in CRAMP^-/- neutrophils compared to the WT cells. CRAMP was also essential for the production of cytokines and chemokines in response to A. baumannii in neutrophils. In addition, the A. baumannii-induced inhibitor of κB-α degradation and phosphorylation of p38 MAPK were impaired in CRAMP^-/- neutrophils, whereas ERK and JNK phosphorylation was upregulated. Our results indicate that CRAMP plays an important role in the host defense against pulmonary infection with A. baumannii by promoting the antibacterial activity of neutrophils and regulating the innate immune responses.

• Annals of Laboratory Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.591-598
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• 2018

Background: Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) is an important marker of regulatory T cells. FOXP3 polymorphisms are associated with autoimmune diseases, cancers, and allograft outcomes. We examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the FOXP3 locus are associated with clinical outcomes after allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods: Five FOXP3 SNPs (rs5902434, rs3761549, rs3761548, rs2232365, and rs2280883) were analyzed by PCR-sequencing of 172 DNA samples from allogenic HSCT patients. We examined the relationship between each SNP and the occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), post-HSCT infection, relapse, and patient survival. Results: Patients with acute GVHD (grades II-IV) showed higher frequencies of the rs3761549 T/T genotype, rs5902434 ATT/ATT genotype, and rs2232365 G/G genotype than did patients without acute GVHD (P =0.017, odds ratio [OR]=5.3; P =0.031, OR=2.4; and P =0.023, OR=2.6, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that the TT genotype of rs3761549 was an independent risk factor for occurrence of acute GVHD (P =0.032, hazard ratio=5.6). In contrast, the genotype frequencies of rs3761549 T/T, rs5902434 ATT/ATT, and rs2232365 G/G were lower in patients with post-HSCT infection than in patients without infection (P =0.026, P =0.046, and P =0.031, respectively). Conclusions: rs3761549, rs5902434, and rs2232365 are associated with an increased risk of acute GVHD and decreased risk of post-HSCT infection.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.277-283
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• 2021

The genus Lactococcus is a gram-positive, catalase-negative, non-motile bacterium. It is a facultative anaerobe and can be cultured at 10~40℃. The genus Lactococcus consists of 16 species, of which Lactococcus garvieae and Lactococcus lactis are known to cause disease in humans. This study reports the first case in which L. garvieae was identified in the urine culture of a 74-year-old woman. The patient confirmed the findings of acute urinary tract infection through blood tests, microbial identification tests, antibiotic susceptibility tests, and computed tomography performed at a hospital. The patient was admitted to the nephrology ward and was treated with IV fluids and erythromycin antibiotics and discharged 5 days later. This is the first case in Korea in which L. garvieae was isolated from the urine of a patient with a urinary tract infection and is expected to be useful in treating patients with L. garvieae infection in the future.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.518-525
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• 2014

Gammaherpesvirus (${\gamma}HV$) infection of the central nervous system (CNS) has been implicated in diverse neurological diseases, and murine ${\gamma}HV$-68 (MHV-68) is known to persist in the brain after cerebral infection. The underlying molecular mechanisms of persistency of virus in the brain are poorly understood. Here, we characterized a unique pattern of MHV-68 persistent infection in neuroblastoma cells. On infection with MHV-68, both murine and human neuroblastoma cells expressed viral lytic proteins and produced virions. However, the infected cells survived productive infection and could be cultured for multiple passages without affecting their cellular growth. Latent infection as well as productive replication was established in these prolonged cultures, and lytic replication was further increased by treatment with lytic inducers. Our results provide a novel system to study persistent infection of ${\gamma}HVs$ in vitro following de novo infection and suggest application of MHV-68 as a potential gene transfer vector to the brain.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.545-550
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• 2002

The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) may be infected by Dirofilaria immitis. However, there has been no report on dirofilarial infection in the raccoon dog in Korea. In this study, we report on D. immitis infection in two wild raccoon dogs captured in the Daejeon area. The two raccoon dogs were referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Chungnam National University for diagnosis of D. immitis infection. The modified Knott's test for the detection of blood D. immitis microfilariae was positive, and serological test (FASTest$^{(R)}$ HW Antigen ELISA kit, Diagnostik Mega Cor, Austria) for D. immitis was positive as well. Additionally, D. immitis microfilariae were differentiated from other microfilariae by using acid phrnphatase histochemical staining (Leucognost-SP$^{(R)}$kit, Diagncstica MERCK, Germany). The two raccoon dogs were necropsed and D. immitis infection was confirmed.